served . in response to one of these incidents , a friend of lead belly ' s , variously identified as either lo ##max or mary elizabeth barn ##icle joked that washington was a " bourgeois town . " though lead belly did not know what the word " bourgeois " meant , he was fascinated by the sound of it , and after its meaning was explained to him he decided to incorporate it into a song about the trip . the song came together quickly ; one account claims that it only took a few hours for lead belly to write it . lo ##max liked it because it was partly based on what happened in his apartment . = = lyrics , themes and music
served. in response to one of these incidents, a friend of lead belly's, variously identified as either lomax or mary elizabeth barnicle joked that washington was a " bourgeois town. " though lead belly did not know what the word " bourgeois " meant, he was fascinated by the sound of it, and after its meaning was explained to him he decided to incorporate it into a song about the trip. the song came together quickly ; one account claims that it only took a few hours for lead belly to write it. lomax liked it because it was partly based on what happened in his apartment. = = lyrics, themes and music